Embodiments of this disclosure relate generally to a radiation detection system, and more particularly, to an aircraft having components of a radiation detection system integrated into the aircraft structure.
The threat of terrorist groups and rogue nation states using radiological and/or nuclear weapons against the United States has dramatically increased over the past several years. Unfortunately, the design, development, manufacture and storage of these materials and weapons generally occur in locations that are difficult to locate.
Presently radiological and/or nuclear material detection is done either by manned ground teams, manned aircraft and/or UAV aircraft. Manned ground teams have limited use since manned ground teams generally only use hand held detectors which may have very limited range. Furthermore, manned ground teams may be exposed to safety and security related consequences with the potential likelihood of interdiction, capture and/or awareness by the enemy. Because of this, covert and overt mission capabilities are extremely difficult.
Manned and UAV aircraft also have certain limitations. Manned and UAV aircraft generally use solid-state radiological and/or nuclear detectors. Solid-state radiation detectors may generally be characterized with low detector volumes. This is due to the interaction physics within the radiation detector and the statistical likelihood of interaction between the radiation photons to be measured and the volumetric size of radiation detectors.
Furthermore, in manned and UAV aircraft, the detectors are housed in an aerodynamic and structural airframe that is generally mounted externally to the aircraft. As the payload of the manned and especially unmanned air vehicle system is limited, this subsequently limits the radiation detector volume and therefore the sensitivity of the radiation detection system.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method that overcomes the above problems.